Thursday July 24, 2008, 11:18 am
Thursday, workers on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast will see clear skies, mild temperatures in the 80's and 90's, and feel only a slight breeze. However, John McCain's campaign says inclement weather caused the cancellation of his appearance there, aimed at promoting offshore drilling.

Perhaps a more likely cause is the 400,000 plus gallons of oil floating through the Mississippi, spilled yesterday after a barge collided with a tanker at New Orleans. As for inclement weather, at the time McCain would have been taking center-stage on the oil rig, Hurricane Dolly, a Category 2 storm, was making landfall at the Texas-Mexico border about 600 miles away.

John McCain's campaign is placing increasing importance on its emphasis of allowing offshore drilling and drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge as a means to reduce US dependence on foreign oil, and public support has been increasing, finds a recent Wall Street Journal/Washington Post poll.

Yet yesterday, when a barge on the Mississippi river at New Orleans, was 'T-boned' an oil tanker -- snapping the barge in half on impact and causing a 419,000 gallon oil spill -- the GOP candidate became a bit shy of the issue.

On July 23, said Politico, "Weather permitting, McCain will helicopter from Louisiana to an oil rig in the Gulf Coast to make the case for expanded off-shore drilling..."

The spill caused authorities to close about 29 miles of the river, from New Orleans straight through the Gulf of Mexico, reports the Times-Picayune. No sooner than the announcement of the spill, McCain's campaign announced the cancellation of the candidate's visit to the rig, citing 'weather.'

Latest reports on Dolly state that it has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, but its landfall triggered severe flooding and 10 plus inches of rain overnight along the Texas-Mexico border. The storm also affected oil refineries and gas output from the region.

"Potential impacts on commercial transportation of grain, oil and other cargoes were being evaluated as about 60 vessels were backed up awaiting clearance to move, a Coast Guard spokesman said" in a published report.

"There are still no estimates of when the vital shipping channel linking New Orleans' port with grain elevators, refineries, coal terminals and other commercial facilities upriver will reopen, the Coast Guard said."